Media shares close mixed

DavidB. Wilkerson

NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Media and entertainment shares were mixed in lackluster trading Monday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 67 points to 8,380, the Nasdaq Composite was off 15 points at 1,275, and NYSE decliners led advancers 17 to 14. See Market Snapshot.

AOL Time Warner
AOL
slipped 22 cents to $12.67 after Amalgamated Bank of New York filed to be the lead plaintiff in an accounting fraud lawsuit against the world's largest media company. Amalgamated claims that AOL inflated its advertising revenues by some $270 million between July 1999 and Jan. 11, 2001 - the day the AOL-Time Warner merger closed.

The alleged fabrications boosted Time Warner's profit enough to beat analysts' expectations in three different quarters during 2000 and 2001, the suit said.

Named in the suit are Chairman Steve Case, Chief Operating Officer Michael Kelly, Chief Executive Richard Parsons and former CEO Gerald Levin, who, according to Amalgamated, had full knowledge of the fraud and covered it up. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already launched a probe into possible accounting improprieties at AOL. An AOL spokeswoman said the company has yet to see the suit, and declined further comment.

Walt Disney Co.
DIS, -0.76%
moved ahead 32 cents to $15.82 after analysts made cautiously optimistic comments about the company's Sept. 13 meeting with sell-side professionals. See The Ratings Game.

Dow Jones & Co. warned Monday that third-quarter earnings would fall short of its previous forecast, due to a greater-than-expected drop-off in September advertising sales at The Wall Street Journal. Shares
DJ
declined just 51 cents to $42.79. See full story.

In the cable group, Cablevision Systems
CVC, -1.52%
rose 72 cents, or almost 7 percent, to $11.70 after the New York Times reported that the company may sell its cable assets. Cablevision has been hampered by serious debt concerns.

Radio stocks were lower, despite positive noises from last week's National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show.

July advertising revenue rose 9 percent from the same month last year, according to the Radio Advertising Bureau. Marc Nabi, analyst at Merrill Lynch, was looking for an advance of 7 percent. "Several advertising categories exhibited strength during the month of July, with the concerts/tickets, financial services, appliances/electronics, automotive and restaurant categories showing the greatest increases, he said in a research note.

Nabi issued a warning, however. He noted that not only did some advertisers hold back on spending on Sept. 11(to be perceived as tasteful on the one-year anniversary of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil), but kept dollars in their pockets "in the days surrounding" the anniversary. This will impact third-quarter results, he said.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. All quotes are in local exchange time. Real-time last sale data for U.S. stock quotes reflect trades reported through Nasdaq only. Intraday data delayed at least 15 minutes or per exchange requirements.